


Somebody to Love

by hexmaniacchoco



Series: April Fool's! I still haven't come up with a title yet [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel & Sam Winchester Friendship, Castiel in the Bunker, M/M, Pokemon GO Shenanigans, Sam Ships It, Season/Series 12 Spoilers, Valentine's Day, also there's a misleading depiction of the ease with which one can play Pokemon GO, but they're only really mentioned - Freeform, oh I like that tag, so just in case probably, sorry - Freeform, sorry I'm not used to tagging here, the T rating is for a swear word or two, well a little after anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-25 04:40:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9802994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hexmaniacchoco/pseuds/hexmaniacchoco
Summary: It's after Valentine's and Sam, Dean, and Cas just got back to the bunker. Instead of being able to sit back and enjoy sale candy though, a game installs itself on their phones and a curse is placed on Dean that not only transforms him into something else, it also teleports him somewhere else."Cas...are you playing...pokemon...?" Sam asked, his incredulation increasing at each pause.





	

Sam ran through the list of things he needed to get on his way from the kitchen to the bunker entrance. They were almost entirely out of solid food, Dean had pointed out the night before that they were running low on beer, and it probably wouldn't hurt to get more coffee... He paused at the doorway between the library and the war room. It might also be a good idea to find out if either needed anything else before he left. 

He started to turn back into the library when movement in the balcony caught his eye. He looked up quickly, on defense, but relaxed when he saw it was Cas. He opened his mouth to call out to him, but closed it again, confused at what Cas was doing. At first glance it just looked like he was looking something up on his phone--but as he continued to slowly walk around, eyes glued to the device, it appeared as if he was using it to look for something. Sam watched him for a few seconds, then started walking over to him, calling out as he did. 

"Cas?" 

Cas didn't look up from his phone, but turned to face Sam's direction. "Oh, hello Sam," he answered. 

"What are you doing?" 

It was a few seconds before Cas replied, distracted. 

"Looking for something..." 

"Looking for what?" Sam stopped at the foot of the stairs and asked, still confused. 

"I don't know," Cas said, "It won't tell me until I've found it." 

"It-- what won't--" Sam started, but stopped, shaking his head and sighing instead. 

He walked up the stairs to where Cas stood and looked down at his phone screen. What looked like a simple navigation system was displayed. Green was in every direction, save for a few grey lines Sam figured must be the roads. However, instead of a simple icon, in the center of the screen stood a character with short brown hair and a beige trenchcoat. The view was from behind, but Sam was certain if it turned around it would look identical to Cas. There were also a handful of blue structures, some large and some small, scattered in the distance. 

He was about to ask what they were looking at, when his eyes landed on a small, red and white circle at the bottom center of the screen. He looked from the phone up to Cas. 

"Cas...are you playing... _pokemon_...?" he asked, his tone becoming more incredulous at each pause. 

"That is what the 'app' is called," Cas replied, still focused on the game. Before Sam could say anything else, he continued. "The goal of it is to locate and capture the various small creatures called 'pokemon' according to the directions given to me after I first caught one." 

"You caught one already?"

"Yes." 

Cas tapped on the circle Sam had noticed and it brought up a small menu. To the left, he tapped on an option that said 'pokemon', and sure enough it displayed the short list of the ones he had captured. He selected the bottom most one, and it brought up what looked like a profile page for it. Sam recognized the short yellow body, long ears, and zig-zagging tail. 

"This is the first one I managed to capture. It's called a 'pikachu'. There originally were three others, but they kept disappearing and reappearing. Then this one appeared, and after I caught it, the game instructed me to find more," he explained. 

"...Huh. It's kind of cute actually," Sam said. 

"Yes," Cas agreed. He looked up from the phone for the first time in the conversation, and his mouth lifted up at the corner for a moment. "However, there was one I was interested in catching before. It reminded me a little of Dean." 

Sam quirked an eyebrow. "How is that?" he asked. 

"It was green--a color which your brother frequently wears," Cas said simply. 

"Huh." 

"Since then I've caught something called a 'pidgey', and another one called a 'weedle'," Cas said, pointing at the respective pokemon on the screen.

"Oh," Sam said, then shook his head. "But Cas--I mean... it seems... like a fun game and all, but what made you download it in the first place? It's just, I wouldn't have expected it to be a game you'd, you know...download. Or...any game, really." 

"I found it already installed on my phone earlier, so I opened it to find out what it was and why it was there." 

"It was already installed?" Sam asked. 

"Yes, and I still don't know how it got there," Cas answered.

"That's odd...," Sam said. "Has it done anything...weird? Or..." 

"So far, no," Cas said. "I haven't been playing it for very long, but it seems harmless." 

"Huh," Sam said again. "Well, have fun, I guess." 

He started to walk back towards the stairs, when he remembered what he was going to ask in the first place. He turned back to Cas. 

"Hey, by the way Cas, do you need--"

"Sam!" Dean interrupted. He stood in the library doorway looking up at Sam, eyebrows raised, holding his phone up and waving it. "Why'd you install a pokemon game on my phone and why can't I delete it?" 

"Wait, you mean you found it installed on your phone too?" Sam asked in reply. 

"'Too?'" 

Cas looked away from his phone and down at Dean. He answered for Sam, "I was telling Sam that I found the game installed on my phone as well." 

Sam pulled out his own phone, and added, "He's been playing it since he found it, and so far nothing seems off about it..." 

"You mean except for the fact that it appeared there in the first place?" Dean said. 

"Besides that," Sam amended. He scrolled through his apps until he landed on one. He scrunched his face. "Huh... I have it on my phone too..." 

"There was also a character already created in my image for me when I first started the game," Cas casually added, looking back down at his phone and tapping something on the screen. He moved his fingers upward, and continued speaking. "That might be considered strange." 

Sam and Dean both looked at him. Sam spoke first. 

"Yeah, I think that qualifies," he said. 

"Cas, are you... are you still playing it?" Dean asked him. 

"Another 'pikachu' appeared where we are. I wanted to catch it," he replied. 

"Wait you can catch those in this?" Dean asked, glancing down at his own phone. 

Sam looked up from his screen at him. 

"What?" Dean said quickly, spreading his arms out defensively. "I mean, they're cute little... things. Don't tell me you never saw one in a store somewhere and half wanted it." 

"No, Dean... I haven't," Sam replied, suppressing a grin. 

"Yeah well I don't believe you," Dean rebuffed him, opening the app on his phone as he did. 

Loud music started playing from Sam's phone, indicating he was ahead of Dean. Sam turned the volume down. After a few more seconds, he looked back up, turning to Cas, and then back to Dean. He opened his mouth to say something and shook his head, but no words came out. 

"What?" Dean asked, alert. 

"It's...," Sam started, still shaking his head, "I have a character already made for me too." 

The game's start-up music started blaring from Dean's phone, and he turned it down. 

Sam continued, "And get this--it looks just like me, and it's named..." 

His lips thinned. "Sasquatch." 

Dean gave a short laugh and looked at his own character. "Huh. Mine's called 'Dean-o'," he said. 

"But why is a...a pokemon game installing itself on our phones?" Sam asked. 

"Hey I think this blue guy turns into that giant turtle thing with cannons on its back. Awesome."

"Dean." 

Dean looked up from his phone and at Sam innocently and shrugged. 

"Are you unable to delete the one on your phone as well, Sam?" Cas asked. 

"Let's find out," Sam answered. 

He tapped his phone a few times and waited. 

"...Nope, it says it can't be deleted." 

"Then it should be the same for mine," Cas said. 

"I guess it could be worse," Dean suggested. 

"Yeah, it could..." Sam admitted. 

"And the game is enjoyable," Cas added. 

Sam thought it over for a minute, then shook his head in bewilderment at his phone again. "Well, if it does anything else weird we'll look further into it, I guess...," he said. He put his phone back into his pocket. "In the meantime, I'm going to make that run to the store now. Either of you need anything else, or want to come with?" he asked. 

"Nah I'm good here," Dean said. "But hey if you see any of those bags of Valentine's candies on sale, get me one. Not the hearts, those are chalk."

"They're not that bad, Dean," Sam defended. 

"Well if you like them so much then get some. Just make sure to get real candy too." 

Cas put his phone away as well. "I'd like to accompany you, if you wouldn't mind," he said. 

"Not at all, Cas," Sam smiled at him, "Let's go." 

  


ღღღღღ

  


An hour passed before Sam and Cas returned. Dean was sitting in the kitchen at the stainless steel counter, his laptop in front of him. 

"Welcome back," he said. "What'd you guys get?" 

Cas started putting away the groceries he had, and Sam placed the bags he was holding next to Dean. "Well," he started, "there wasn't a whole lot on sale yet, so I got you these." 

He fished around in the groceries and pulled out a bright pink bag filled with an assortment of candies wrapped in red, pink, and white. He placed a smaller bag of conversation hearts next to them. Dean frowned at them, and reached over to open the other bag. 

"I also got us some more beer, and some actual food for us to eat over the next few days," Sam continued, putting things away as he talked. 

Dean stood up and went over to help them. 

"You tellin' me you're tired of ravioli and take-out, Sam?" 

Sam gave him a sideways look and grinned, but didn't answer. Cas was already nearly finished putting up the groceries he had carried in. He looked into one of the remaining bags and dug around. After a moment he pulled out two heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. 

"Sam, Dean," he started, holding a box in each hand and turning to face them, "I've been wanting to try celebrating different holidays with you two, and to become accustomed to the various human traditions associated with them." He nodded at Sam and continued, "Sam told me last week that one of the traditions for Valentine's Day was to gift people with candy, so I bought these for you both while we were at the store." 

He handed a red one with a cartoon dog and "Happy Valentine's Day!" written across it to Sam. "I understand you're fond of dogs, Sam," he said, and added, "I apologize I couldn't give you both something sooner."

"Thanks, Cas," Sam said, smiling at him, "And hey, don't worry about it. We've all been--we haven't really had the time." 

"You can say that again," Dean muttered, briefly watching his fingers drum on the counter. 

Cas smiled back, then handed a box to Dean. It was blue, and had "Have an awesome Valentine's Day!" written on it in large letters. "You say that word often so I thought you might like this one," he said. 

"Hey, thanks Cas," Dean said, clapping Cas on the shoulder. "I do." 

"I admit, it's probably more appropriate than bees," Cas added. 

Dean furrowed his brows, and Sam took in a breath to reply, but changed his mind and closed his mouth. He placed the chocolates on the counter, and reached into one of the bags next to him. He pulled out three bottles of beer. The labels on them were a metallic red and read "Conversation Beers" on them, and each one had a different message underneath. "Looks like we thought the same thing, Cas," Sam told him, handing him one first, then Dean. 

Cas turned the bottle in his hand, and read the message out loud. "2 sweet..." 

"I... know it's kinda...mushy...," Sam said, searching for words, "Valentine's messages always are. But you really are, Cas. Your heart's always in the right place, and that was the closest one they had to that." 

"I...," Cas looked up Sam and smiled, "Thank you, Sam..." 

"U rock," Dean read off of his. "Truer words have never been spoken." 

Sam chuckled, "Yeah... That one practically had your name on it, Dean." 

Dean smirked, but his face dropped and he looked around the room. He went back to the bags of candy sitting near his laptop, placing the beer and chocolates next to them. "I uh... didn't expect the fuzzy gift-giving all of a sudden, so I didn't actually have anything for you two," he said, opening the conversation hearts, "but it's the thought that counts, right?" 

He grabbed two and handed one each to Sam and Cas. 

"U r cute," Sam read. 

"Like a giant, hulking puppy. See? They're even appropriate," Dean said, grinning. 

Sam couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Dean," he said, tossing it into his mouth. "What's yours say, Cas?" 

Cas turned the candy he was given in his fingers, then looked over to Dean. 

"Kiss me." 

Sam almost spit out his candy, and Dean's face turned red as he stared back at Cas. 

"That's what it says," Cas said, looking between them. 

"Yeah, Dean...," Sam said in between small laughs, "They really are." 

"Ok, maybe I should--I should have uh... read them first," Dean spluttered, "It--like Sam said, that's just how most Valentine's messages are." He pointed to the chocolates and went on, "I'm surprised you found one like that." 

Cas ate his candy, looking thoughtful as he chewed it. "I can understand why Dean compared them to a mineral," he said, "but they're not bad. Thank you, Dean." 

"Don't uh...no, no problem, Cas. Happy late Valentine's Day. Both of you," he replied, scratching the back of his head, face still red. 

"So, you find out anything useful?" Sam changed the subject as he finished with the rest of the groceries, nodding towards the laptop. 

"No," Dean replied, "but I did run into some fans of Chuck's books, and among them was that girl from the Michigan school, Marie." 

"Really? You mean the girl who wrote that musical about us?" 

"That's the one." 

Sam looked surprised. "Oh. Has she gotten into more trouble? Or uh...," he glanced over at Cas, "did she tell you more about--what was it called?" He snapped his fingers, "Deast-- Dest--" 

"None of the above, Sam," Dean said assuredly, cutting him off. 

"Ok, so, what?" Sam asked, "You just ran into her then?" 

"Pretty much. I didn't actually talk to her. I just saw some posts she made about us," he answered. 

"About "us" us?" 

"Who's Marie?" Cas cut in. 

"Dean and I worked a case over in Michigan a while ago, and she was the target of Calliope because of a musical she wrote based on Chuck's books," Sam answered him, "Oh, and apparently, some of the fans--" 

"Sam," Dean interrupted, glaring. 

"What? I was just telling him about the musical," Sam said innocently, "We both thought it wasn't bad." 

Dean's glare strengthened. 

Cas looked between them, narrowing his eyes slightly. "I see. What did you read?" he asked Dean. 

"That they think my eyes are 'fanfiction green', for starters, whatever that means," Dean grumbled. 

Sam laughed, "'Fanfiction green', Dean? Really? What _does_ that mean?" 

"I don't know, but wait 'til you hear what they said about y--"

Dean was interrupted as Cas suddenly held his face by the chin and looked into his eyes, or to be more accurate, peered into them. Dean swallowed and grabbed onto Cas' arm. "Cas, what are--" 

"Decorative cabbage," Cas said confidently. 

"What?"

"I don't know what they meant by 'fanfiction'," Cas began, letting go of Dean's face. he continued, "However, the color is similar to a decorative cabbage I saw when Sam and I were at the store earlier." 

Stifled laughter came from Sam, and Dean looked offended. He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly there was a blinding flash of light. When it cleared, where Dean once stood was nothing but a cabbage and his clothes crumpled in a pile. 

Cas stared at it, his expression turning from dumbfoundment to alarm. "Dean..." 

"Dean!" Sam shouted, breaking from his own stupor. He ran over to the pile and stopped next to Cas.

"Cas what happened?" he asked, panicked. 

Cas slowly shook his head. "I don't...know. Dean was there, and now he's..." 

"Do you think it could have been a spell?" 

"I... perhaps," Cas said, taking a half step toward the cabbage--toward Dean, "We should start there. But first--" 

"What to do with...," Sam gestured helplessly at the cabbage, "Dean..." 

"Yes..." 

Cas bent down to pick up the cabbage, in order to examine it more closely. The moment he started reaching for it though, it vanished. Cas' hand was frozen over where it had been. Sam raised and lowered his arms, opened and closed his mouth before anything would come out. 

"What the hell?!" 

  


ღღღღღ

  


Dean didn't know where he was, or what had happened for that matter. One minute he was in the bunker with Sam and Cas, and the next there was some flash of light and then darkness. He wasn't unconscious, or at least, he didn't think he was. He just couldn't see anything. Or hear anything, save for his own thoughts. He couldn't feel his own body, but he vaguely felt that he had been somewhere soft, and then suddenly it was cool. He could imagine things as well, and if he thought about it, he still had the memory of Cas' hand on his chin--a phantom touch that seemed to be everywhere; he couldn't focus it. Speaking of, he didn't doubt the two of them would be freaking out right now. He might not be able to use his cellphone, but at least he had one form of communication to try. 

_Cas_ , he called out in his mind, _Castiel. I uh, don't know if you can hear this, but I really hope you can._

He wasn't sure if praying would work, but if he still had some form of consciousness, it was his best shot. He continued, _Listen--I don't know where I am, or what the hell even happened back there. I can't see or hear anything, so I'm sorry but I got nothing to give you both on my whereabouts. Hell I can barely feel anything... It's kinda freaking me out a little. There's gotta be a... a locator spell or something you guys can use to track me down. Just hurry man, alright?_

Dean had an unsettling feeling that it would be some time before he was found, but he shoved it down and tried to picture himself somewhere more pleasant, somewhere more tangible. He imagined himself back in the kitchen with Sam and Cas. He imagined them at a lakefront, his mom joining them, enjoying some lunch and cool beers. He let his mind wander anywhere it wanted to keep it from returning to his current situation, and he waited. 

  


ღღღღღ 

  


Three piles of various spellbooks sat on one of the library's tables. Sam sighed heavily at the sight of them, "So... we should try a locator spell first, see if we can find him. Then I guess we just... look through everything here until we find something..." 

"We will find him, Sam," Cas assured him, "And I agree. After we get him back, we'll get started looking through these transformation spells." 

"Alright, so, what do we need to get for the--" 

Sam stopped when he felt his phone buzz once in his pocket. A moment later a noise rang out from Cas'.

"It could be Dean," Cas said, getting his phone without missing a beat. 

Sam did the same. "I don't know... his phone's here with the rest of his stuff," he said skeptically, pushing his hair back. 

Regardless, they both paused to look at their phones. A hopeful tension hung thick in the air, but turned to disappointment upon seeing an update notification. Sam read it out loud. 

"There's a new update for Pokemon GO...," he held his hand up, then let it fall to his side in exasperation, "Today is a special late Valetine's event where--"

"Where you can find items hidden in the real word," Cas finished. He looked up at Sam. "Do you think this game has anything to do with Dean?" 

Sam furrowed his eyebrows at his screen. "Honestly?" he answered, "I have no idea..." He looked up at Cas, a flat expression on his face. "But what are the odds of it appearing on our phones the same day this happens to him?" 

"Let's find out," Cas said determinedly. He opened the game. Sam walked over to him and watched the app. The moment it finished loading, a message box appeared: 

[Happy Valetine's Day! Today only is a special event that lets you find items hidden around the real world! Just use your AR camera to find them. Any object you can find will have a purple circle appear over it. Just walk up to it to find out what it is! Looks like there's an item nearby. Click "continue" to use the camera to find it.] 

"Wait a second," Sam said, opening the game on his phone as well. "Let's both do this." 

A few moments later, it loaded and the same message appeared. They both tapped the "continue" button, and after a second it brought up the camera. They started scanning the room with it, and in no time at all Sam spotted the circle. It was over the books on a shelf to their right. 

"Found it," Sam said. As he walked toward it, the circle narrowed down to fit over a specific book. When he was close enough, a new message appeared under a picture of the book that read "Spellbook!". Sam pulled it off the shelf, and a new message replaced the other, saying "Sam obtained item!" 

"Huh." 

"A spellbook?" Cas asked, now next to him. 

"Yeah... 'Unusual Love Curses'," Sam read.

"It could be the book with the spell we're looking for," Cas surmised. 

"Maybe, but... why would it be in here?" 

Cas took the book fom him, ignoring the same messages appearing on his phone. He glanced at the table of contents, then flipped through until he was at a section of the book involving transformation spells. He thumbed through the pages, skimming each spell. Sam read along with him over his shoulder. After a few minutes, he stopped on a page. "I think this might be the one cast on Dean," he said. 

Sam leaned in to see the description better. "...Transforms subject into whatever object they're first described as after casting the spell...," he read. 

Cas pointed further down the page. "It says here that shortly upon transformation, the subject of the spell is teleported to be among a nearby group of similar objects." 

"So...what? Dean's by a bunch of other cabbages?" 

"It would seem so." 

"That's probably good news then. I'll search anywhere nearby that sells or grows them," Sam said, moving toward his laptop. "How do we break it once we find him?" 

"Love," Cas answered. 

"'Love'?" Sam repeated, scrunching his face, "Like with Miracle Max, true love's kiss, all that?" 

"It doesn't specify," Cas replied, "It just says that love is needed to undo the curse." 

"I guess we'll get to that when we find him," Sam muttered, opening his laptop and pressing the power button. 

Nothing happened, so he pressed it again. The screen stayed black. 

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me--," he complained, pressing the button a few more times in vain. 

"What is it?" Cas asked. 

"Finding where he is with my laptop is out of the question," Sam answered, "It won't even turn on." He picked up his phone and closed the game on it. 

"Let me try this..." 

He tapped the internet browser and a white window popped up. He tapped the URL bar, and it closed, a crash report message appearing in its place. "Come on...!" he exclaimed. He tried again, and again, and again, but each time he opened the internet app, it crashed. 

"Something must be interfering with them," Cas guessed. 

"The spell didn't mention anything like that though," Sam said. 

"That might be true, but it's possible whoever cast the spell also ensured our difficulty in undoing it," Cas replied. 

Sam rested his forehead against his hand. "So...should we try a locator spell? Or do you think they disabled that, too?" he said. 

Cas thought for a moment before replying. "I think we should look at the game again," he finally said. 

"The pokemon one?" Sam asked, lifting his head. 

"Yes," Cas answered, opening the app again, "It led us to the book with the spell most likely cast on Dean. Maybe it can also help us find him." 

Sam opened the app on his phone as well. "So who do you think cast the spell?" he asked. 

"I don't know," Cas answered, "It had to have been cast recently, or it would have activated sooner." 

"Could it have been Rowena? Or someone from the British Men of Letters? Or someone we don't know?" 

The game finished loading, and a new message appeared, putting their discussion on hold. 

"Congratulations," Cas read, "Now find the rest of the items. Once you've found them all, you'll be able to use them as your own Blue's Clues to track down the last one. ...Happy hunting..." He looked at Sam, eyes narrowed. 

"'Blue's Clues'... What does that mean?"

"What? Nothing," Sam said, shaking his head, "It's a kid's show--a guy's dog leaves clues for him to follow...or something... It's a weird reference in a pokemon game, but I think it's safe to bet on this not being the real app at this point." 

"Then using the other items to find Dean must be what it's referring to," Cas concluded. 

"Yeah, I think so," Sam agreed. 

They started scanning the room with their phones again, walking around and checking the spaces between or behind the furniture. After a handful of minutes and nothing else collected, Cas stopped. "It would be too easy if the other items were in this room. We should split up and search the rest of the bunker," he said. 

"Yeah...," Sam said, coming to the same conclusion, "The book was on its shelf in the right place, so the rest of them are probably where they usually are too." 

"I'll continue searching around here. You can start from the back," Cas directed, "and we'll meet in the middle." 

"Sounds like a plan," Sam said, "Let's find him." 

 

ღღღღღ 

 

Dean had started singing whichever songs he knew all the words to as they came to mind. Switching things up a bit would probably be good for his sanity, he figured. He wasn't sure how long it had really been so far, but to him, it felt like hours had passed. Being as he currently was--with nothing but his thoughts and a sense of touch dulled to be almost uselss--wasn't just unnerving; it was also boring as hell. 

Well, he thought, Hell wasn't actually boring. Boring might have been better. Still, he didn't like being left alone with himself, unable to do much more than think. There was little to distract him from his present worries like this. What if this was part of some plot to get to them? What if it was a trap Sam and Cas would be walking into? What if his mom walked into it with them? Cas brought her along the last time. He was halfway through "Nothing Else Matters" when he decided to try praying again. 

_Castiel?_ he tried, _If you can hear me buddy, be careful, and leave Mom out of this. I don't know if this is a trap or... or something. You guys probably know more than I do by now--or at least I hope you do--but if something doesn't seem right don't be reckless. Just, scratch that about hurrying. I'm A-OK. Got my music to keep me company, ok? You and Sam, just--be careful._

 

ღღღღღ 

 

"So have you heard from him yet?" 

Almost an hour had passed, and Sam and Cas had finished looking over the bunker for the other items. They had since moved to the war room to look over them. 

"Not yet," Cas said, fidgeting with his phone, "If he still has consciousness as a... cabbage, he either hasn't attempted to contact me, or something is blocking him as it is us." 

"I can't imagine what it must be like if he does," Sam grimaced. He continued, "So--besides the spellbook, we have the Impala keys, a state map, a spade, and a newspaper from..." 

He flipped it over, "last week." 

"The keys suggest we need to travel farther than we could on foot," Cas started. 

"Yeah," Sam continued, "and the state map lets us know he's still in Kansas somewhere. I'm guessing the spade means he's on a farm or garden or something--" 

"--and not at the store with the ones we saw," Cas finished for him. 

"Exactly," Sam agreed, "But why the newspaper?" 

"We still don't have enough information to determine his exact location. If these are indeed all of the items, then perhaps it can tell us where he is," Cas inferred. 

Sam picked up the paper and started looking through it. He stopped several pages in and flattened it on the table. "You're right," he said, excitement seeping into his voice, "This is an ad for a farmer's market coming up in a few months. And get this, one of the featured vendors sells award-winning cabbages." 

"Then is he near that market?" Cas asked. 

"Doubt it. This is just an ad. But--it tells us where the farm is," Sam answered. 

"Where is it?" 

Sam snatched the Impala keys from the table. "We're going to Wichita," he said.

 

ღღღღღ

 

Three hours later, the Impala was stopped outside the farm's front gates. Sam leaned sideways, ducking his head to see through the passenger window to get a better look at the name. 

"Benefield's Cabbagepatch," he read, "This is the place." 

"They're closed," Cas observed. 

"We could pose as agricultural inspectors," Sam suggested. 

Cas pondered it. 

"How would we explain Dean?" 

"I...uh...," Sam stuttered, furrowing his brow, "You're right. Let's just sneak in somewhere." 

He pulled away and continued down the road until he spotted a sideroad leading through some woods past the farm's southern side. He turned onto it, and kept driving until he could see an expanse of flat land through the trees, past the chainlink fence surrounding the farm. He turned off the engine and climbed out, Cas following him. 

"This looks like as good a spot as any to start," Sam said. 

They walked the short distance to the fence. Large spools of barbed wire circled the top. 

Sam quirked an eyebrow, "I guess they're serious about their crops." 

"Sam, look," Cas said, grabbing his shoulder and pointing toward a small group of trees off to the side. Surrounding each one were several cabbages and a short, white fence. 

"I guess they're some kind of winter variety," Sam said, pulling a pair of wire cutters from his pocket, "and I bet Dean's one of them." 

"He is," Cas said surely, "I think...I can sense him, but it's faint." 

"Like, where he is?" Sam asked hopefully. 

"No, it's more like a prayer," Cas replied, looking from patch to patch. 

Sam glanced over to Cas for a moment, and Cas returned his look. Sam turned back to the fence. "Hang in there, Dean," he said, working on one of the links. 

ღღღ

The fence was stronger than it looked, and after a full minute, Sam only had two places cut. Cas put his hand on Sam's shoulder, pulling him back slightly. "It'll be faster if I do it," he said. 

"Uh... yeah, sure. I guess it would be, actually," Sam said, handing the wire cutters over. 

Cas ignored it, turning toward the fence. 

"I don't need those." 

He took hold of a section, and light shone from his hand. "Sam, move back," he cautioned. 

Sam didn't protest, and quickly took a couple steps backward. "You're not gonna like... explode the fence, are you?" he asked. 

"No," was all Cas said. 

Sam watched him curiously as he stood there. He was about to ask him what he was doing, when he suddenly heard the sound of metal snapping. It continued steadily, and Sam watched, eyebrows raised, as a trail of broken links expanded from where he left off. They traveled an arching path, and after a minute reached the ground on the other side of where Cas stood. Cas gave a small tug, and the entire section of fence came away in one piece. He tossed it to the side and stepped through the doorway he created.

"Let's go," he called back. 

Sam looked over at the discarded section and shrugged, following Cas toward the fenced in trees. Cas already had his phone out and was waiting for the game to load. Sam took his out as well and started it up. 

"Sam," Cas said a moment later, "It may take longer to find Dean than we thought." 

Sam was about to ask what he meant when his game finally loaded. He opened the AR camera. As soon as he started to scan it over the cabbages, he understood. 

"All of them have a purple circle," he said in dismay, his face falling. 

"We'll have to look at each one individually," Cas stated. 

Sam's shoulders sagged. "What if we can't tell which one's Dean?" he asked. 

Cas didn't look away from his phone, and instead headed unfalteringly towards a patch to his left. "Then we take all of them," he said. 

Sam sighed, and started toward a patch to his right. 

ღღღ

Fifteen minutes later, they were about halfway done. Thankfully, they only needed to get close enough to the plants for a message to appear describing what each one was. The problem was that every message simply said "Cabbage". It was starting to look like they might have to load them all up in the car and take them back with them after all. Dean probably wasn't going to be happy about that. 

Cas leaned slightly over one of the fences, moving his phone from cabbage to cabbage and getting the same message each time. 

[ ! Cabbage]

[ ! Cabbage]

[ ! Cabbage]

[ ! Cabbage]

[ ! Cabbage]

Then, suddenly: 

[ ! Decorative Cabbage] 

Cas paused on that one. "Sam!" he called out. 

"Yeah?" Sam called back hopefully, stopping what he was doing and looking over to Cas. 

"I think I may have found him." 

Sam hopped over the fence and out of the patch he was standing in, and started jogging over to where Cas was. "How do you know?" he asked. 

"The message is different," Cas replied. He stepped over the fence and squatted next to the cabbage in question. 

Sam reached the fence. 

"What'd it say?" 

"Decorative cabbage," Cas answered, "It's what I described the color of his eyes as being most similar to right before the spell took effect." 

"So we're sure it's him," Sam said. 

A new message appeared on Cas' screen. 

[Castiel, Angel of the Lord obtained item!] 

"Yes, this is him," he confirmed. 

"Alright, grab him and let's get back to the bunker," Sam said, heading back toward the fence, "I'll go start the car." 

Cas picked up the cabbage and stood, but before he could turn to follow Sam, there was another bright flash of light. 

ღღღღღ 

_Chuck!_ Dean prayed, _Chuck, please! Look-- I know you're up there busy talking things over with Amara, but it's been a really long time--hours, days maybe--and I don't know if Sam and Cas are ok or not. I don't think I'm in the bunker anymore, and they're probably looking for me. And if not--if not, then..._ , he trailed off, trying to swallow down the horrible feeling building inside, _So please, if you're hearing this, just make sure they're safe, alright?_ Please. 

The worried feeling that was gnawing on him had been slowly growing, and it was driving him nuts now. It was an even longer shot that Chuck would hear him, but he was becoming desperate. Maybe this was part of the consequences Billie was talking about. Maybe this was The Empty. For all Dean really knew, maybe some reaper got the jump on them and threw them there. Was Sam in here too? What happened to Cas? He had been trying to occasionally pray to him to let them know he was alright--that he was just stuck...somewhere...and not to rush into anything dangerous. But he didn't even know if they could hear him. He didn't even know if--

Light poured into his vision, stopping his thoughts abruptly. Just ask quickly as it came, it was gone, and he could feel his body again. He was lying somewhere, and cool lumps were digging into his side. He heard people calling him. 

"Dean!" Sam and Cas cried out simultaneously. 

Dean scrambled to his feet, stumbling on the cabbages surrounding him and trampling them. Cas grabbed his arms to steady him. "Dean! Are you alright?" he asked, eyes wide. 

"I...," Dean's voice was hoarse. He blinked a few times and looked at Cas, then to Sam, who was a few feet away. 

"I think so." 

He felt a breeze at his back and looked down at himself, and realized he wasn't wearing any clothes. He looked back up and saw Cas briefly look him over as well. "We...didn't expect the spell to be undone so quickly upon finding you," Cas said, before Dean could say anything, "Thankfully you appear to be uninjured." 

"Your clothes are back at the bunker," Sam added. 

"Spell? How'd I--" 

Dean was interrupted by another voice coming from a few yards behind him. A man with curly brown hair and wearing worn out overalls jogged up to them, shotgun in one hand, cellphone in another. 

"Hey!" he shouted at them, "This is private property! You better explain yourselves or I'm calling the police!"

"We'll tell you later," Sam said quickly, "Cas, give him your coat." 

Cas handed his coat over to Dean, who quickly put it on and turned to face the guy who was probably the farmer. 

"I'll explain," Cas told him as he approached him. He held his hand up toward the farmer, who flinched but otherwise didn't move. Cas touched his forehead. 

"Look mister, just what are you--" 

"You didn't see us here," Cas said, staring the man in the eyes, "You were investigating some deer that entered your farm through a hole in the fence. You were worried they were eating your plants." 

He let go of the man, who stood there, dazed. "We should leave now," he said to Dean and Sam. 

The three of them jogged back through the fence and the trees, and to the Impala still waiting on the sideroad. 

"Nice going back there, Cassian," Dean chuckled, heading around the car to the driver's side. 

"You're not driving. Sam is," Cas said, climbing into the shotgun seat, "And Cassian wasn't a Jedi." 

"Yeah well whatever. His name's closer to yours than Luke, or Yoda, or Jyn," Dean defended. He also would have protested being stuck in the back, but there wasn't time, so he opened the door and climbed in behind Sam. 

Sam looked at him in the mirror and grinned. "Congratulations Dean," he said cheerfully, starting the engine, "You're being rescued." 

As he started turning the car around, they heard the man cry out back where they had been.

"My cabbages!" 

Sam sped off toward the main road. 

  


ღღღღღ 

  


"So you're saying someone cast some sort of Madlibs spell on me, and it turned me into a what--a _cabbage_?" Dean questioned, taking a swig of the Valentine's beer Sam had gotten him. They were back in the kitchen, so he could get dressed in his clothes that had been left there in the hurry to find him. 

"Pretty much," Sam said.

"And you don't know who cast it." 

"Nope, just that it must have been cast recently." 

"And you found me with Pokemon?" Dean asked, leaning forward and squinting his eyes in disbelief.

"Yes," Cas answered. He tilted his head to the side and added, "That's been bothering me."

"Why's that?" Sam asked. 

Cas pulled his phone out. "The spell never mentioned any such assistance in locating the victim," he stated, then faced the screen toward Sam and Dean.

"And now that we have Dean back, the game is no longer installed on my phone." 

Sam furrowed his brow and checked his own phone. "Same here," he said, "And Dean I'm betting yours is gone, too." 

"Probably," Dean agreed, "Which is almost a shame--I kinda wanted to get the little blue guy." 

Sam laughed. "Yeah, and Cas wanted to get the green one," he mentioned, "If this had gone differently Dean, you would have been a pokemon." 

"Yeah well that would have been better than a freakin' plant," he said, then asked, "Hey, how'd you guys break the spell anyway?" 

Sam clapped him on the shoulder and smiled brightly. "Love, Dean," he said. 

Dean looked quickly between Sam and Cas. "You mean like the movie _Frozen_?" he asked, turning his head to the side slightly and quirking an eyebrow. 

Sam chuckled and patted his shoulder. 

"Yeah Dean. Like the movie _Frozen_." 

"By the way, either of you do that?" Dean asked, nodding towards the two bags of candy. They were still where they left them. However, they were slightly spilled out and scattered near the openings. 

"Uh...," Sam said, going to take a closer look, "No... But you might have Dean, when you went to get the candy hearts." 

"Maybe," Dean said, and continued his speculation, "But who did we know who had a sweet tooth and could pull stuff like this off without breaking a sweat?" 

"Dean, are you suggesting it was Gabriel?" Sam laughed, raising his eyebrows in surprise. 

"It's possible he's right," Cas said before Dean could answer. He explained. 

"When I was under Metatron's illusion, Gabriel was the one guiding me. Something seemed different when I told him I knew it was all fake--different from the rest of the fake reality. Before he disappeared, I asked him if he was still alive." 

Sam and Dean stared at him. After a moment, Sam asked, "And? Is he?" 

"He didn't say," Cas answered, "He... waggled an eyebrow, and was gone." 

"Heh, sounds like him," Dean said. 

"Ok but that was before everything with Amara," Sam argued, "When we asked Chuck about the archangels, he only mentioned Michael and Lucifer, and Lucifer said he was dead when we were in the cage." 

"I don't know. I mean he's faked his own death before. Maybe he was in hiding," Dean suggested. 

"From God, Dean?" 

"Gabriel and Lucifer alone would not have been powerful enough to stop Amara," Cas cut in, contemplating the matter, and continued, "If Gabriel was killed during the apocalypse, our father may have brought him back as he did me. I would not doubt if Gabriel went back into hiding after revival and was left alone." 

"Except for when Metatron became God and roped him into helping him," Dean added. 

"Yes, possibly," Cas replied. 

Sam shook his head, "I don't know. Why would he come back now, just to do this?" 

"Who knows?" Dean relented a bit, taking another sip of beer, "Who knows what the point of any of this was." 

"Indeed. There's been no harm done," Cas added. 

Dean scoffed, "You mean outside of turning me into a literal vegetable." 

"Yeah, how was that, Dean?" Sam asked, smirking. 

"It sucked." 

"Well we're glad we found you Dean, and that you're human again," Cas said, opening his own beer. Sam did the same. 

Dean raised his beer and smiled at both of them, then looked over at Sam's bottle. 

"Hey, what's yours say, anyway, Sammy?" he asked. 

"Oh, uh... I don't know, I just sorta grabbed one for myself along with the other two," Sam said, turning it in his hands. He read the message on the label, "It's just 'XOXO'..."

"Huh," Dean replied. 

"Did you expect something else?" Sam asked. 

"No, it's just that I kinda thought it might be something a little more relevant, you know, to close off the whole weird thing," Dean answered, "Guess not." 

"Yeah, guess not," Sam said, taking a sip of his beer. 

Cas drank his as well. "Maybe in that sense it is relevant," he considered. 

Sam and Dean looked at him, confused. 

"How?" Dean asked. 

"We successfully found Dean and broke the curse, but the question of who was responsible for it in the first place is still unresolved," Cas explained, "Similarly, the message on Sam's bottle did not supply any sort of conclusion to the ordeal." 

"Huh," Sam said, looking back at the XOXO printed on the label, "I guess it is." 

"Huh," Dean echoed, and the three of them sat there pondering it.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first SPN fic! I wrote it for spncoldesthits, and you can find the Tumblr post about it here: 
> 
> http://spncoldesthits.tumblr.com/post/156329355040/februarys-prompt-is-pokenatural-posting-dates 
> 
> The prompt was Pokenatural, and had to feature Castiel, augmented reality, and decorative cabbage. It was a ton of fun finding a way to follow the prompt and writing the actual story. (Isn't that the point of fanfics though? Fun?) It was also hard. (The catch I guess, for all that fun.) Anywho I hear my laptop yelling at me via its fans. They're louder than the cooling fan. I should go now. Yeah. Hope you guys enjoyed it? (And also I guess that not many of you see it? Ahaha. (Check out the post with the rules and other information about the game up there, and if you're not familiar with it or maybe just saw it around, try it sometime!) But for those of you that do, constructive feedback is appreciated!) 
> 
> Oh! I almost forgot to mention: I wasn't sure if I should mention it in the tags or not because this is the first time I'm using AO3, but the destiel here is a goal. I'm considering making this a series of sorts. So I apologize if you expected more than implications. Let me know if I should add that to the tags and I definitely will.


End file.
